AN INSIGHT INTO TWO OF THE MOST DEFINITIVE FILMS OF THE FRENCH NEW WAVE

A Film and it’s Era – Children of Paradise (aka Once Upon a Time – Children of Paradise) Regularly voted as the finest French film ever made, and one of the top three films of all time, “Les Enfants du Paradis” is a magical, yet somewhat black piece of escapism set in nineteenth century Paris, a deeply romantic and theatrical tour-de-force. The film was made by Marcel Carné and Jacques Prévert in 1943 during the golden age of French cinema under the occupation. French legends, Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault and and Pierre Brasseur feature through archive interviews along with original contributions from Bertrand Tavernier, Edward Turk and others.

Once Upon a Time – The Contempt At the height of the French New Wave, director Jean-Luc Godard procured Brigitte Bardot for a big-budget film which was not quite what the investors were expecting. Filmed in lavish Cinemascope and Technicolor, but often shot with a handheld camera, the film pushed boundaries and appalled traditionalists.

The documentary places the film within its era, as French society is in turmoil at the end of the Algerian war of independence and the movie industry is in crisis. Godard hires Fritz Lang as the old hero of art-house films, forced to direct gladiator movies for an unscrupulous Hollywood producer. Features extensive contributions from Godard and Michel Piccoli and archive interviews with Bardot and Fritz Lang.